Final Thoughts

I have decided to divide my CES 301 final blog post into two parts. The first part will be an informative presentation on modern slavery. The presentation will cover what it looks like, the main forms we covered in class, and general statistics and information about each type. This is part of the assignment is to help those viewing this blog gain insight into the other forms of oppression which we have discussed in class.

For part two, I thought it would be interesting to look at each of my classmates blogs and come up with a collective understanding of what we have learned through this course. Being that I am a CES minor I have taken several CES classes, I have seen many of these topic before, but through this course I have learned a great deal of new information. The focus of this class that I found most interesting was that of solutions to these world problems of oppression and slavery and because of this I will focus the brunt of this part on this.



Human Trafficking

"The first step to break this problem is for people to be aware of what is happening to these children. They are taken away from their families, ship around the world, and pushed into prostitution with no means of fighting back. The children are forced to take drugs and are given little food, clothing, and shelter to survive. They become dependent on the cappers and have no way to leave." - Jessica Hart

"Because the government is taking action by creating and enforcing new and existing laws, it helps make the change needed in regards to sex tourism. Federal law gives prosecutors the resources to bring those who commit the crime to justice. There are also many different organizations, movements, and alliances available to protest slavery. People need to get out there and take action and make the change for the children. These child victims are innocent, young human beings and they need our help!" - Brenna Sharp

Human trafficking, I feel, is very similar to slavery in that it will never go away. The way our society is set up allows for the ownership of people to continue. I have mentioned this before and I will say it again capitalism does not allow for everyone to be at the top, this creates the need for people to be exploited. Without this hierarchy of people everyone would be equal thus nullifying the use of the term capitalism. However, there are ways to combat human trafficking through education and international cooperation. Because of conflicting laws between countries, human trafficking may go unchecked in one area, working against the efforts of another to stop it. Through this cooperation individuals may gain a greater understanding of their impact in the global community and start to create change.



Oppression

"As a woman of color, and as a consumer of television and other forms of media, I expect representation. Since its seems impossible for a television show to be made about a woman of color, going to college and being effected by messages in media, I have to look for ways to voice my concern and make others aware of the racial binary media creates and continually reinforces." - Ellen Kellie

"This is a cruel process that just goes round and round. I think the welfare system is a good idea, but it has some things that need to be fixed to make it work better. I believe the biggest problem is going to be fixing the application process so that it is harder for people to tell their white lies and get money that others deserve." - Britney James

Self representation is something only the ruling majority has had the luxury of enjoying since the oppression of peoples began. In the past we can look at the caste system in India, and see the representation of untouchables being controlled by those of the ruling elite. We can look a into the future at the representations of minority groups within the US. All minority groups have faced oppression via controlling images in the media but to focus on one group, the African American population struggles daily with images portrayed by the media. For example, Jim Crow and Black face began in the 1830s, fast forward to present day, Robert Downy Jr. is sporting black face in one of his latest films Tropic thunder.

Modern Slavery

"The problem with trying to end it is how complex of an issues it is and how many people need to cooperate to ensure that it would be a lasting effect. There are already laws passed that prohibit slavery and yet it still occurs in every continent." - Michelle Holroyd

"However, if there is any way out of this mess, I believe it might be able to be accomplished with better educational opportunities... Clearly, as a middle-class white student attending a university, it may seem hypocritical for me to propose solutions to problems I've never had to live with or experience. But I believe there's a golden coin at the bottom of every pail; and when the nations of the Native Americans unite, we can find solutions as a country to problems that are long overdue for fixing." - Joseph Mackay

As we have discussed in class simply outlawing something does not make it go away, as can be seen with slavery. As cynical as this sounds, I don't think as a society, nation, or humanity as a whole we will ever be able to stop slavery. People have been engaging in slavery since the "beginning of time," well before capitalism and globalization, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. I think it is important for people to be educated and understand the impact and reach of slavery and human trafficking in today's world. Capitalism, the economic system which the US and many other countries follow, does not allow for everyone to be equal and because money is such a driving factor in our society, slavery will not end.

Fair Trade... Electronics?

With a focus on electronics and technology, I have tried to take a closer look at the true cost of our stuff in this blog. This has been somewhat difficult as there isn't much information focusing directly on this specific of a topic. I have however managed to muddy the waters some, and bring to light some important issues facing the production of our technology.

With so much information and focus on fair trade products such as chocolate, coffee, and clothing people often forget about the technology we have become dependent on. It is also very easy to miss this recent development in fair trade products because there are still very few companies striving for this certification.

One company in particular, United Pepper, is striving to produce electronics that are fair trade and environmentally friendly. United Pepper only uses partners to produce their products who adhere to fair trade criteria including no child labor, fair wages, direct trade (no middlemen), and companies which allow for their workers to have access to job education regarding their rights as employees. This seems like the perfect plan; we can continue to purchase electronics and feel good about how we are fairly supporting the workers who made them. However, "United Pepper will always work with suppliers that respect Fair Trade principles. However, Fair Trade certification of technology products is still in its infancy at this stage, and in some countries and for some components we trust our partners to comply to Fair Trade principles." As states by United Pepper even with a mission to work with only fair trade partners it seems this is not always successful.

With this clip from United Pepper's mission statement on fair trade, they hint that even though they say their products are "fair trade" it is not always possible for the products to be produced fairly. This is, in turn, very similar to what I have discussed on previous posts regarding Apple and their mission to work with partners and manufacturers who follow a very similar set of rules.

As discussed in class, the idea of fair trade is a good step towards solving an issue. This is not to say that slavery and oppression will ever be a thing of the past, because as we have learned slavery has been a part of humanities history and continues to this day. We must look at fair trade more closely, be cause in a way we are trying to solve the inequalities of capitalism with capitalism.

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Helpful Links

Helpful links:

• Change.org - This site is a good resource for articles covering global health, fair trade, corporate social responsibility and global poverty. " There are millions of people who care passionately about working for change but lack the information and opportunities necessary to translate their interest into effective action. Change.org aims to address this need by serving as the central platform informing and empowering movements for social change around the most important issues of our time."
• Engadget.com - Although this site does not directly deal with issues involving sweatshops, it has however given me insight into some of my most recent posts centering around tech sweatshops and apple.
• YoungerWorld.org - This is Adam Fletcher's youth social activism blog. It gives great insight into this area and offers ways in which today's youth (far and near) can work together to bring social change.
  
• Suite101.com - Their tag line is "Insightful writers. Informed readers." This site offers a wide range of articles focusing on social activism, politics and society. A good starting point when looking for topical articles due to the large number of topics and contributing writers.
• Child Rights Information Network - CRIN has built a global network for children's rights. They press for rights, not charity, and advocate for a genuine systemic shift in how governments and societies view children.
• Human Rights Watch - One of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, HRW gives voice to the oppressed and holds oppressors accountable for their crimes.
• AntiSlavery.org - Anti-Slavery International works at local, national and international levels to eliminate all forms of slavery around the world.
• GlobalMarch.org - The Global March Against Child Labor is a movement to mobilize worldwide efforts to protect and promote the rights of all children, especially the right to receive a free, meaningful education and to be free from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be harmful to the child's physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
• Child Labor Coalition - The CLC exists to serve as a national network for the exchange of information about child labor; provide a forum and a unified voice on protecting working minors and ending child labor exploitation; and develop informational and educational outreach to the public and private sectors to combat child labor abuses and promote progressive initiatives and legislation.
• National Consumers League - The mission of the National Consumers League is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. The National Consumers League is a private, nonprofit advocacy group representing consumers on marketplace and workplace issues.
• TakePart.com - TP is an independent online community that connects its members directly to the issues that inspire them to engage, contribute and take action.
• LaborRights.com - ILRF is an advocacy organization dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide. ILRF serves a unique role among human rights organizations as advocates for and with working poor around the world.
• Worker Rights Consortium - WRC is an independent labor rights monitoring organization, conducting investigations of working conditions in factories around the globe. The WRC conducts independent, in-depth investigations; issues public reports on factories producing for major U.S. brands; and aids workers at these factories in their efforts to end labor abuses and defend their workplace rights.
• NoSweat Clothing - The 1st of the sweatshop free clothing companies & currently last, in terms of revenue. They produce their gear at union & worker owned factories in the US, Canada, Argentina, South Africa & Bethlehem, Palestine.
• Justice Clothing - Justice Clothing's mission is to support democratic principles, workers' rights and economic sustainability through the sale and distribution of goods manufactured by workers protected by collective bargaining agreements.

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Gold Farming

In this new digital age a real price has been put on virtual coin.With the rise in popularity of Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) video and computer games a new type of sweatshop has evolved called gold-mining. In gold-mining sweatshops workers sit for up to 10 hours straight playing MMO's collecting in-game gold and coins which are then sold for real money. These facilities are very similar to those of the "classic" sweatshop we are used to seeing, in that they are very run down, cramped, and the workers are subjected to little to no wages, harassment, and the the withholding of their rights.

According to an article in International Herald Tribune, there are now roughly 100,000 young people working in factories in China, working 12 hour shifts, earning roughly $250 a month playing MMORPGs focused purely on leveling up characters. Some might be playing purely to earn gold which is then sold in the real world for online gamers to buy better items whilst others will be logged in as another player’s character, ‘buffing’ up that character’s stats, level and abilities.

Many of these workers are employed by larger companies from the United States. One of the largest names in online gaming products is Gamersloot.net, a company which sells gold and other items for MMO's such as World of Warcraft, EverQuest, and dozens of others. Because of the driving demand for these products in the US and other Western countries companies like Gamersloot.net have exploited the "cheap" labor which is available in China. Although the products produced through gold-mining make up a relatively small amount of the online gaming products sold, this is just another example of the subjugation of others for our profit and happiness.

"'What we're seeing here is the emergence of virtual currencies and virtual economies,' said Peter Ludlow, a longtime gamer and a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. 'People are making real money here, so these games are becoming like real economies.'"

In this sense, as a society, we have not only taken over the real world with capitalism and slavery, but now we are moving towards the online world as well. Although this can also be argued to have already happened with the emergence of online advertising but I feel in this sense we would be controlling peoples lives and actions through the playing of these games.

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Apple Exposed

Apple recently released their 2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report, which had some interesting findings. Along with the usual talk about Apple's dedication to workers rights, improving supplier management systems, and educating/protecting foreign contract workers, a final note was made about some rather troubling findings at some of Apples manufacturers.

According to the report, Apple has separated the violations to their fair labor contract into two categories, core and frequent violations. Core violations as Apple has put it are "the most serious class of violation. It refers to any practice or situation that we consider to be contrary to the core principles underlying Apple’s Supplier Code of Conduct—and to require immediate corrective." Recruitment fee overcharges, underage workers, improper disposal of hazardous waste, and falsification of records all fall under this category. Frequent violations are seen as the incorrect implementation of Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct over many of their manufacturers facilities.

Apple's Supplier Code of Conduct "sets a maximum of 60 work hours per week and requires at least one day of rest per seven days of work, while allowing exceptions in unusual or emergency circumstances." According to the findings in the progress report Apple has discovered that 60 of their manufacturers have been exceeding the 60 hours a week 50% of the time. Also, the report stated that at 65 facilities more than half had records of workers working more than six consecutive days.

The report also mentions having found several cases where wages, compensation, and benefits were all being withheld improperly according to the Apple Supplier Code of Conduct. At 48 facilities Apple found that overtime wages were being improperly calculated and recorded, resulting in the workers not being paid for their labor. In another instance, Apple discovered 24 facilities had wages below the minimum wage set by Apple's code. The report also detailed the finding of many cases where legally required benefits were being withheld; this was found at 57 facilities.

I think it is important to note two things. The first is that in many of these cases Apple is imposing their own regulations, which are often far more strict than those of the local government. In the case of workers being paid below the minimum wage, this is Apples minimum wage, not that this justifies the underpayment but simply for perspective on the situation. The second thing to take note of is that this Supplier Code of Conduct is not legally required of Apple. Many of the local governmental regulations and requirements of Apple's facilities are far below what Apple expects from them.

Finally, although Apple recognizes and offers solutions to these violations they do not give much detail as to how their solutions are implemented or the success in the past. Many of their solutions read as follows, "To address these issues, we required each facility to develop management systems—or improve existing systems—to drive compliance with Apple’s limits on work hours and required days of rest." In my opinion this is a way for Apple to cop out and put all the responsibility on the manufacturer. For example, in the solution they require the facility to develop their own management system to solve the issue. This seems problematic because, as in many cases, the manufacturers will often revert back to their local standards as soon as the audit it over.

I have only touched on a few issues brought up in Apple's 2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report. If you you would like read more, do so by following this link to Apple's 2010 Supplier Responsibility Progress Report.

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Letter to the Editor

In the search for information to cover the history of sweatshops and the exploitation of indigenous peoples, I came across this New York Times opinion article written by Nicholas Kristof, titled In Praise of the Maligned Sweatshop. Although this article is the opinion of an individual, I think it is a good illustration of why sweatshops continue to be such a prominent part of our history.

In the article Kristof writes about the “good” which can come through the introduction of sweatshops stating, “Anyone who cares about fighting poverty should campaign in favor of sweatshops.” Kristof has made some very obvious errors in his logic. First, in his article he writes of having spoken to some young men on the streets in Namibia who would love to have sweatshop jobs. The young men’s reasoning was not that the work gave them better working conditions or that they were even paid more over their construction jobs, but merely the work was consistent. As a construction worker these men would on average find work one day a week. On the other end of the spectrum if these men were working in a sweatshop they would be working 40 plus hour weeks in hazardous working condition for an extremely small amount of money.

Kristof’s example shows the male side of the sweatshop equation but as we have learned women make up the majority of the work force. Lisa Featherstone from Students Against Sweatshops wrote, “Women are vulnerable to verbal and physical abuse. They must undergo forced pregnancy testing (which the workers have to pay for themselves) and sexual harassment from managers, including demands for sex.” This is not to belittle the conditions men face in sweatshops but in most cases women are far worse off. Kristof may have used this male example of sweatshop workers to portray a less brutal and hazardous work environment.

Kristof argues that many groups are fighting to rid the world of sweatshops and thus these groups want to eliminate millions of jobs worldwide. This is simply not the case. Many groups fighting sweatshops are not arguing for the removal of these jobs but simply for the workers to gain some basic human rights. They want worker rights to be put in place and actually enforced. In many countries, like China, there is a minimum wage and a maximum number of hours a person can work set in place, but these rules are blatantly disregarded.

Another one of Kristof’s arguments pushes for companies such as Nike to move into Africa and create sweatshops. His reasoning says that in order for companies to want to bring jobs into developing countries they must lower their minimum wage. Kristof writes, “One problem… is that it already isn’t profitable to pay respectable salaries, and so any pressure to raise them becomes one more reason to avoid Africa altogether.” This type of capitalist thinking stems from the notion of free trade and social Darwinism established during colonialism. If countries continue the race to the bottom, sweatshops will be the least of their problems.

Kristof’s final argument is for the “best U.S. initiative” in Africa, referring to the African Growth and Opportunity Act. This act allows duty free imports from Africa and should then stimulate manufacturing and possibly create sweatshops, a plus in Kristof’s book. This however is not the case, according to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick, “AGOA would not create sweatshops in Africa because it requires protective standards for workers consistent with those set by the International Labor Organization.” This reaffirms the argument that anti-sweatshop groups are not pushing to eliminate jobs but to simply protect the workers rights.

Kristof seems to know his stuff and that is a major problem, because many of NY Times readers are uninformed on the real issue and will simply continue to believe what Kristof and others like him put on the dinner table. This post doesn't really cover the entire history of sweatshops, but it does cover the ideology of sweatshops.

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The Reality Behind Our Stuff.

When I first thought about a topic I wanted to focus on I immediately looked towards the connection between technology and globalization. Wanting to focus more on the effects of having our iPhone's, labtops, videogames, and other luxuries, I soon realized my true focus was on the real costs of our lifestyles.
This blog will critically look at the affects of our way of living on other peoples. What this means is that it will show how our disposable lifestyle greatly impacts those living in other countries.
(On a side note, I refrain from using the term "under/less developed country" because we call them that as a product of our lifestyle)

Another issue of focus for this blog will be on America's high-tech sweatshops, a growing problem as technology becomes a larger and more integral part of our lives.

The reason I have chosen this topic is because, like everyone else, I have grown dependent on technology (e.g.- smart phone, laptop, ipod, etc.), and I think it is important that we see what the real cost of having all our gadgets and luxuries is. This process will allow us to have a better understanding and perspective of how we fit into globalization as a process. As a society it is very easy to go about our lives without thinking about its impact because we are so far separated from the process and realities of life.

For example, in a recent article published by Businessweek.com, titled What your gadgets really cost, market research company iSuppli looks at the retail cost of our gadgets and compares that to the actual cost of the components. Now, the article does not go into the cost of labor for these gadgets, but looking at the difference from actual cost to retail price (iPad - Retail: $499, Actual: 219$) it is easy to see there is a huge markup. Comparing these costs to the extremely small amount of money laborers working in Apple factories make, Apple is pulling in a huge profit. To bring this back into focus, as consumers we are fueling this process of the race to the bottom, as manufacturers fight to offer the lowest production costs and gain our consumption for the lowest cost.

By being conscious and aware of our buying power we can have an affect on working conditions and wage for laborers suffering from globalization.